Hyde Has A Heart
by Aerenii
Summary: Can a nurse show Richard what it's like to have everything?  Richard/OC pairing
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I has asked someone to beta read this for me, but I'm too antsy about posting this. Plus, if I keep it much longer, I will eventually tweak it to the point that it's not the story I want it to be. I know I need to work on the cadence of Richard's delivery, I apologize if it reads like William Shatner performing 'Slingblade' :') This originally was intended as a one-off, but the characters ended up writing their own story as I worked. If you enjoy this, I can keep going with their story. They're still running around my head with different little plot nuggets to work on. I look forward to your thoughts and advice on improving my writing. Thank you. **

Chapter 1

She shouldn't have been out that late alone. Kathleen knew this, but there was something so peaceful about the boardwalk in the wee hours of the morning. The sound of the waves gently caressing the shoreline. The whisper of the wind as it brushed across the boards. Sleeping birds tucked in their nests, cooing softly to little bird dreams. It was these quiet moments that Kathleen adored, the few hours after even Babette's had closed for the night, but before the early riser started their daily bustle.

She had stood by the railing and watched the moon rise and slowly make it's way across the sky, watching the silvery reflection as it rippled and swayed over the waves. It was when the clouds started to roll in, hiding the moon, that she knew she should go home. It was a trek she'd made dozens of times since to moved to Atlantic City, and the worse thing that had happened to her was that one time she slipped on wet pavement and ended up in a puddle of something that was quite smelly and still warm that she really didn't want to contemplate further.

But there was something different about tonight. A few blocks away from the boardwalk, the peaceful quiet seemed to take on an ominous feel. Kathleen felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle. She quickened her steps and glanced over her shoulder. She didn't see anything, but that only made her more wary.

She made it to Atlantic Ave., only two and a half blocks from her home, when it happened. As she was crossing the street, there was a sudden screech of tires and blinding light hitting her eyes. She stood paralyzed as a car came speeding towards her. The light grew brighter, encompassing everything to her, and she thought that this must be the pathway to heaven, the brighter it grew the closer she was to salvation. What were those quick bursts of light and sound off to the side? Were those screams? Was that _her _screaming?

Suddenly something barreled into Kathleen from the side, knocking her out of the way, into the blissful concealing shadows. There was a man on top of her, and his weight shifted slightly as he moved to shoot at the passing car. Still screaming, Kathleen heard the sound of bullets hitting brick, metal, glass and the unmistakable sickening sound of bullets hitting flesh. There was a pain-filled scream, and suddenly the car sped away. A moment more of gunfire, then the unnatural silence of an evening recently disturbed settled in.

"Shut that broad up!" someone shouted. Kathleen felt a gloved hand over her mouth and heard an almost grunted 'Shh.' She swallowed the scream that she so desperately wanted to release. Hurried footsteps approached her from all around, one of them uneven. She squeezed her eyes closed, certain she was going to die in the next moment and not wanting to see it coming.

"How in the fuck did they know we were here?" someone said angrily. "They knew we were waiting!"

"I don't know," another voice said. "Makes me think we have a snitch somewhere."

"Holy shit, Harrow! That was some fucking awesome shooting! And you weren't even looking."

"Mmm..." the man on top of Kathleen said. "Probably would've done, . Better if I didn't have . To save her." Kathleen slowly opened one eye and peered up at the man on top of her. The left side of his face was in shadow, but the right side of his face was bathed in streetlight, and all she could think was that this bespeckled man looked so young and gentle. Kathleen opened both eyes as the man moved off of her. There were six other men around her, each of them carrying guns, a couple of them bleeding, all of them looking tired.

"I think we oughta go after 'em, Jimmy. Finish 'em off while they're wounded." Everyone, including Kathleen, looked at a fair haired man who was staring in the direction of the departed car.

"Not tonight," Jimmy said after a moment's thought. "I think we need to talk to the Commodore, see if he has any thoughts on this." He looked down the road for another moment, then turned his gaze to Kathleen. "Who the hell are you? And what the fuck are you doing out this late?"

"M...my...na...name is Kathleen Gallagher, sir." Her voice trembled, and it was raw sounding from the screaming. She probably wouldn't have a voice tomorrow, assuming she lived to see tomorrow, of course. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "I was out walking. I like the boardwalk at night, when it's deserted. It's peaceful."

"This ain't the boardwalk, lady," one of the men said, the one who had complimented Harrow's shooting. "The boardwalk's that way." He pointed over his shoulder. Unfortunately, over his shoulder was north.

"Actually it's. That way," Harrow replied, pointing southeast.

"That still don't explain what she's doin' here," the man replied.

"Walking...walking home," Kathleen stammered. "It is three in the morning." She glanced at her watch to confirm this, and gave a small cry when she realized her watch, a gift from her mother, was shattered. "Oh...hell's bells!"

"Mmmm...closer. To four."

Kathleen ran her hands over her face. "Whatever," she said. "If you're going to kill me, kill me. If you're not going to kill me, can I please go home?"

"Why would we kill you?" Jimmy asked.

"Because I just saw..." she waved her hand around, encompassing the men, the street, and everything "what ever that was. I don't know who you are, or who they are, or what just happened, but isn't that what you people do? Kill witnesses?"

Jimmy gave a small sad smile and shook his head. "Richard, escort Miss Gallagher home. Then meet me back at the house. The rest of you, go home, clean up, tend to your wounds. I'll get ahold of you tomorrow." With that, Jimmy turned and slowly limped away. The others slowly drifted away, none of them heading in the direction of Kathleen's home.

She looked up at Harrow, who now, mostly in shadow, seemed terribly ominous and deadly. "Um, sir, I, uh...it's only um...I mean, you can go...I uh...that is I only live right up the road, and um..."

"Mmmm...Jimmy said I should. Take you home. I'll take you home." He cocked his head at her. "Mmm, do you think. I'm going to mmm. Kill you as we. Walk?"

Since that was exactly the thought that was going through her mind, Kathleen said "The thought hadn't even occurred to me. It's just, uh, I'm sure you're busy, or tired or um...are you going to kill me as we walk?"

"Not. Tonight, mmm." He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. Kathleen smoothed her skirt and began walking slowly, hoping her shaking legs wouldn't give out on her. They walked in silence, both of them looking straight ahead. It didn't take long to reach Kathleen's apartment building.

"This is it," she said. "Um, I don't know if there's a proper way to do this, but um, thank you for saving my life back there. I really appreciate it."

"Next time look. Both ways. mmm, Before crossing the street. "

Kathleen felt a small laugh break free, part nerves, part exhaustion, part true humor. Without thinking she leaned in and kissed Harrow's right cheek, then his left. One was cool unfeeling metal, the other warm tender flesh and blood.

Richard saw the puzzled look on her face and mistook it for horror. "Jekyll and Hyde. All at once. That's me." And he turned and walked away.

Kathleen watched him disappear into the shadows. She wanted to call out to him, but didn't dare. She'd watched him shoot, possibly (probably?) kill people. That wasn't the kind of man she needed to know. But he had pushed her out of the way of the speeding car, risking himself when it was logical to think that leaving her in the middle of the road would have been a good idea. Hitting her might've slowed the car enough for Harrow, Jimmy and other others to get everyone in the car. Could he really be a cold blooded killer if he was willing to save a stupid woman who didn't have the sense to pay attention to traffic? Speaking of cold blooded, that was brilliant on her part to act like he was some horrific monster just because of his mask. Hadn't she seen enough gruesome injuries as a nurse in the war? Missing limbs, third degree burns, internal organs hanging out...

"Kathleen Susanne Gallagher, you are a bloody idiot sometimes," she said to herself. She turned and went up the steps, letting herself quietly into the building and then into her apartment. As she cleaned herself up and got ready for bed, she came to a decision. She was going to find Richard Harrow tomorrow and apologize.

* * *

><p>Richard didn't go far when he walked away from Kathleen. Just far enough that he knew she couldn't see him. But he could still see her standing in front of the step, and he watched as a wide range of emotions passed across her face. He couldn't identify any of them, but something about the woman intrigued him. He planned to leave when she went inside, but when he saw a light come on up on the third floor, and saw her silhouette in the window, he remained where he was. Part of him planned how he could shoot her from where he was standing, if it came to it. But a small, quiet part of him that only occasionally let itself be heard plotted a way to climb up to her window. When her light suddenly went out, he shook his head and turned away, heading back towards Jimmy's.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day, Kathleen set out to find Richard Harrow. She walked around the city for a while, looking at everyone who passed by, but after a few hours she realized this was pointless. She didn't know much about the workings of the criminal world, but she figured he might not me walking around the city if he had just been in a gun fight last night. She could try asking everyone she walked past if they had by chance seen a young dark haired man with half a face walking around, but that was really a stupid idea. So she walked some more. After another hour, she spied a familiar figure. Not Richard, no... but a fair haired man with a limp. He was walking with a dark haired woman and a young boy, coming towards her. She wove through the crowded, calling "Jimmy!" as loud as she could. Jimmy looked up with a puzzled expression, but stayed where he was until she reached them.

"Miss Gallagher," he said politely. "Glad to see you seem fine this morning."

"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry to bother you, but um...I was looking for Richard. Do you know where I might find him?"

"No, I don't," Jimmy said. "But if I see him, I'll let him know."

"Thank you," Kathleen said, slightly disappointed. "Have a nice day. Ma'am." She nodded politely to the woman, then walked away.

"Who was that?" Angela asked.

"Long story," Jimmy replied as they started walking.

"Well, what does she want with Richard?"

"I don't know" Jimmy looked back over his shoulder, but Kathleen was lost in the crowd. "But it's probably a long story, too".

* * *

><p>Later that night, Richard stood in the shadows, watching Kathleen's window. Her light was on, but he hadn't seen her by the window for a while. Jimmy said she was looking for him. Richard wondered why. He'd been standing here for the better part of an hour wondering about that. He couldn't come up with any logical reason. He knew he wasn't going to find out just standing here in the dark, so much like he had imagined the night before, he climbed up to her window.<p>

Perched on the sill, he could see her sitting at the kitchen table, paper in front of her, a pen in her hand, and a far away look in her eye. He watched her for a few minutes, then finally tapped gently on the glass. She jumped and looked over, a small 'O' of surprise on her face. She hurriedly stood up and came over to the window, opening it and stepping back as he came into the room. Instinctively, he looked around, searching for anyone hiding in the shadows.

"I have a door, you know," Kathleen said after a moment.

" Didn't know which one. Mmm. Was yours.. Knew your window, though"

"Oh. Okay then. Um, would you like something to drink? Coffee? Um, I don't have any..."

Richard finished his quick examination of her room then turned his attention to her. She broke off mid-sentence and swallowed. But she met his eyes, took a deep breath, and said "Look, I'm sorry if, last night, it seemed like I was...appalled. I just,...I'll be honest, I never really got a good look at you, and I guess I,...I don't know, the shock and everything kind of put this image in my mind of being rescued by a knight in shining armor...What's so funny?" she asked as Richard gave a low, gravelly chuckle.

"Not shining armor. Mmm. Painted tin, " he said as he tapped the mask.

Kathleen smiled and laughed. "True. But still, I didn't know, so when I felt the mask, I was kind of shocked, I'll admit it. But...I don't know exactly how you came to be wearing that mask, but I can come up with a hundred different scenarios, some probably even more horrific than what you went through." She saw the puzzled look in Richard's right eye and explained "I was a nurse, spent about six months in Germany and another year in France, and I've been in London since the end of the war, helping with the rehabilitation program. I saw a lot of young men like you coming in from the lines. Some of them were beyond saving. Some of them weren't, but wished that they were." She sighed and moved back to the table. Richard walked slowly around her apartment, listening to her but examining things. He came across her broken watch sitting on the kitchen counter and picked it up.

"Mmm. Sorry about. Your watch. Must've mmm. Broken. When I fell on you."

"Hmm? Oh, that's okay. I think I'd much rather have a broken watch than a broken me. Besides, watches are easier to repair than people."  
>"Mmm. I know." There was an awkward moment of silence. Kathleen moved to stand in front of him, studying both halves of his face. She could only guess what he must've been like before the war. Handsome, for certain. But what else? Had he been a scholar, or a laborer, maybe a policeman, or a thief. Did he have a family somewhere? Did they know he was alive, or did they get word that he'd died in battle?<p>

Richard studied her back. She was nearly as tall as he was, with dark red hair, and blue eyes. There was a quiet kindness about her, and a certain strength that probably made her a wonderful nurse. She wasn't beautiful, at least not like Odette in Chicago, or Angela or even Mrs. Shroder . But there was something about her that made her so appealing to him.

"Mr. Harrow...Richard..." she said quietly, unconsciously leaning toward him. "I do want to thank you again for saving my life last night..."

Richard stood very still as she leaned in, his eye glued to a spot on her lips that seemed to glisten.

"...and I really want you to understand that I...find nothing unappealing about you...at all." _Oh dear God did I really just say that out loud?_

Richard stiffened and blinked at her. Did she really just say that out loud? So many responses, so many thoughts ran through his mind. There was a strange fear in him, one unlike any he'd ever known before. Or maybe it wasn't fear, maybe it was something else,something that he couldn't quite identify because he had never quite experienced it before. But he had, once. Or at least something like it. It was almost like the one time he was with Odette. But this was different somehow.

Kathleen stepped back, her eyes wide.

"Uhm..." she started.

"Mmm..." Richard said at the same time.

Before either of them could say anything else there was a knock on Kathleen's door.

"Oh!" she exhaled softly before hurrying to answer it. She had no idea who could be knocking this late at night, but it had better be good, she thought as she walked. As she reached for the doorknob, she looked over her shoulder at Richard, but he was gone. Kathleen shook her head in wonder then opened the door, finding Mrs. Dagner, the landlady, standing there.

"Mr. Marietti said he saw someone climb in through your window," the landlady said

"With all due respect to Mr. Marietti, there's no one here," Kathleen said calmly, mentally adding _not anymore, anyway._

"You're not being beaten or raped?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"You're sure there's no one here? I thought I heard you talking to someone..."

"Oh! I uh, I kind of have this story idea in my head, and I was just, uh, sounding out the dialog, you know to see if it sounded good."

"What's the story about?"

"Oh, it's about this stupid fool of a woman who manages to act like an absolute idiot whenever she's within ten feet of a certain disfigured veteran."

"When you write it, let me read it. I like a good love story."

"Who said it was a good love story, Mrs. Dagner? The veteran could turn out to be a cold emotionless murderer."

"You can make it a good love story, dear. You just need to work on the veteran a little bit. Now good night dear."

Kathleen shut and locked the door and leaned against it with a sigh. Damn Mr. Marietti. Nosy old man. She walked to the window and looked out, hoping to catch sight of Richard, but she saw nothing. She sighed again and went back to her table, bound and determined to finish the letter to her sister. But the top sheet no longer had the letter she'd been trying to write to her sister. Instead, in handwriting she did not recognize, it said 'Jekyll is fine. Hyde is not.' She held the sheet in her hand and walked back to the window, peering in to the darkness. What was he trying to tell her?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Richard watched Kathleen the entire time she stood at the window. The rarely heard part of him wanted to call her name, let her know he was here in the shadows below. He watched her until she finally turned away from the window. He watched her window until she turned off the light. Then he stood in the darkness and wondered about things he only dreamed of and dreamed about things he knew would never come true. Kathleen's face kept popping into his mind. She had laugh crinkles around her eyes, and a light dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose, and a small scar on her forehead, about half an inch long, just above her left eyebrow. He wondered how she came by it.

It was nearly dawn before Richard finally moved from beneath Kathleen's window. He wondered if she would heed the warning he left her. It would be best if she stayed away from him. After all, the night they met, she nearly got killed. And while part of him knew it was coincidence that she was there in the street that night, part of him felt that it was somehow his fault.

But what if it was fate that brought her there? he thought as he happened to pass the fortune teller. What if it was meant to be that she was in the exact spot at the exact moment when he could save her? His steps slowed as he mulled this over. Why would _he_ be meant to save her? Of the seven men in the crew, why would fate pick him? It didn't make sense. Or maybe it did and he just didn't want to see it. It was confusing to him. He'd never been in a situation like this before and he wasn't entirely certain he wanted to be in one now.

He turned it over and over in his mind, not really paying attention to where he was going, so he was startled when a car drove up beside him and blew the horn.

"Where the hell have you been, Richard?" Jimmy asked from behind the wheel. "We're supposed to be getting things ready for tonight. The rest of the guys are at the warehouse. Are you alright? You look like hell."

"Mmmm.I'm Sorry. Got distracted. Mmmm. Been walking, thinking, mmmm."

"Get in and let's go. We've got a lot to get ready."

Richard hopped into the car and Jimmy sped away. They didn't talk on the way to the warehouse. Richard knew Jimmy was busy going over the plans in his head. Jimmy knew that if Richard really wanted to talk about whatever was on his mind, he would eventually say something. Jimmy just hoped it wouldn't get in the way of tonight's job.

* * *

><p>It was nearly midnight, and the crew was down on the beach, waiting as patiently as possible for more bottles and crates to wash ashore. Richard hated this part of things. Waiting for hours for a perfect shot was one thing. Waiting for hours for rum was another.<p>

Realizing his hands were getting cold, Richard reached into his coat pocket to pull out his gloves. Instead, he felt something metal, which he pulled out and examined. It was Kathleen's broken watch. He must've put it in his pocket when the knock on her door came and he had to hurry out the window.

"Mmm...do you know anyone. Who can repair this? ." he asked Bobby, the young man standing next to him.

"What'cha got there?" Bobby asked. "A watch? That's a lady's watch, ain't it? Say, that ain't from that dumb broad who almost got herself killed last night, is it?"

"Don't. Call. Her A...Dumb. Broad," Richard growled.

"Hey guys! Harrow's sweet on that **dumb broad **from last night!" Bobby called loudly. The others looked at them.

"Would you keep your fucking voice down?" Jimmy hissed from near the water. "You wanna let everyone know we're here?"

"Sorry," Bobby said in a tone that clearly said he wasn't. "I just think it's funny that the old Tin Woodsman here has a fuckin' crush on that du..."

Richard's fist came out of nowhere to connect with Bobby's teeth. Bobby was down in the sand in a heartbeat and staring at the barrel of Richard's shotgun a second later. The only sound along the beach were the waves and the low, primal growl that issued from Richard's throat.

"Jesus!" Jimmy muttered as he rushed as fast as he could toward the two men. "Richard, back off!" Richard made no move to back off. "Stand down soldier!" Jimmy snapped. "That's an order!" Richard's head snapped toward Jimmy, he blinked once, then stepped back, slowly moving the shotgun up to his shoulder.

Jimmy looked from Richard to Bobby and back to Richard, shaking his head and thinking that if this is what it meant to be in charge, maybe he was better off being Nucky's driver.

"You," Jimmy said, pointing at Bobby "go over there," he pointed up the beach "keep an eye on the water and your mouth fucking shut. And you," he turned on Richard "go back to the car and stay the fuck there. And don't shoot anyone."

"What if they're. Government agents. Or other potential. Enemies?"

"Okay, you can shoot the agents or other potential enemies. No one else. Now go."

Richard went. No one approached, so he let his mind drift where it would, and so what if it happened to drift to the apartment of a certain red headed nurse who said she found nothing at all unappealing about him. A smile spread across Richard's face, and it was still there an hour later when Jimmy walked up to the car.

"Richard." No response. "Richard!" Still nothing. Jimmy snapped his fingers in front of Richard's good eye, and for a moment got as much reaction as if he's snapped his fingers in front of the painted one. "Richard!" Jimmy said with a slight slap to Richard's cheek.

"Mmmm. Sorry. Mmm." Richard said when he came back to his surroundings.

"It's alright," Jimmy said with a laugh. He knew exactly where his friends thoughts had been. "We're all done here. Let's go. You might want to put that thing away though." Richard looked blankly down at the shotgun in his hands. "I meant that," Jimmy said, pointing to the bulge in Richard's pants.

"Oh. Mmmm." Richard knew he was blushing, and he shot Jimmy a sheepish grin as they got into the car.

"So, you really like this girl?" Jimmy said as they drove back toward town. Richard nodded. "But you're not sure if she likes you, is that it?"

"Mmmm, she said she. Didn't find me. Unappealing. In anyway. ."

"Is that why she was looking for you the other day?"

"Mmm, kind of. She wanted,. To thank me. For saving her."

"Then let her thank you, man! Remember how appreciative Odette..."

Richard shook his head, cutting Jimmy off. How could he explain to Jimmy that he wanted something more than a quick toss in the sheets with this woman?

"You want something more than that, huh?" Jimmy guessed. Richard nodded. "Well, why don't you invite her out. I know, what if I get my mom to watch Tommy, and you, me, Ang and Kathleen can go to Babette's for a nice dinner? It'll be a little easier for you having us there, Kathleen and Ang can powder their noses together, or whatever it is women due when they go to the bathroom together and spend twenty minutes in there, seriously does it take them that long to piss? So what do you think?"

"No! Not...mmm...not in public. "

"What? Why...oh! Gotcha. Well, how about this then? What if..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had been almost three days since Kathleen had seen Richard. She was finally coming to accept that she wouldn't be seeing him again. Either she scared him away by being too forward, or he was avoiding her for reasons entirely his own. She kept telling herself that it was probably for the best, since he was mostly likely a cold blooded murderer who was wrapped up in more illegal activities than any sane person would be involved in. But she wasn't buying it, and she was fairly certain she would lose her mind if she sat staring at her door, waiting for him to knock.

If she'd been staring at the window instead of the door, she would've seen Richard make his way to her sill. As it was, she nearly fell out of the chair with surprise when he rapped on the glass. She composed herself and went to the window, opening it just enough to talk.

"I still have a door you know!" She hissed. Richard looked sheepishly at her. "Wait...How did you get up here? I don't have a fire escape."

"Up. The drainpipe."

"Well Mr. Harrow, you can just go back down the drainpipe and come in through the front door like a normal person if you want to talk to me."

"Yes. Ma'am," Richard said. He stretched and reached for the pipe with his right hand, then his right foot, and before Kathleen could say anything, he pulled the rest of his body over and started to shimmy down. Kathleen shut the window and turned to go to the front door to wait, but before she got halfway across the room, there was more tapping on her glass.

"Mmm, I still don't know. Which door is yours," Richard said shamefully.

"Oh, I'm apartment 3F," Kathleen replied. "Just up the stairs and to the left."

Richard nodded and made his way back down the drainpipe. He went to the front of the building, in through the door and up the stairs, turned left and found her apartment door. He took a moment to pull his jacket straight, took off his cap and smoothed his hair, and with hands that trembled knocked gently on her door.

"Miss Gallagher," he said with a small bow when she opened the door.

"Mr. Harrow," she replied. "Please come in."

He stepped in and took a seat on the davenport when she offered him a seat. She sat in the chair near him, and they each looked at their hands for a few moments.

"I was,...well, I mean, I was kind of, you know...worried, um, that maybe something had happened to you or, um, that I maybe, sort of scared you away..." Sure, she was six shade of scarlet, but someone had to say something. Of course, if his next sentence was 'I came here to kill you' then it was sort of pointless wasn't it?

"Mmm, no," Richard looked up at her through his eyelashes, then glanced back down before finishing. "I had to. Work up the nerve to. Come back over here. Mmmm." Now he was the one who was blushing. This was easier when Angela was helping him act this out, he thought. "I was. Mmm. Wondering if you want to. Come to dinner. With me. And the Darmodys. Tomorrow night. At their house.."

"Oh yes! I'd be delighted. But who are the Darmodys?"

"Jimmy. And his wife."

"Oh! I see. Yes, I would very much like to go to dinner with you." She smiled, and Richard felt his stomach flip. There was something so wonderful about her, but Richard doubted he would ever be able to describe it. Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

Kathleen jumped up and hurried to the door. Before she opened it, she looked over her shoulder at Richard, pleased to see he was still there, but slightly alarmed to see that he was standing and had his hand inside of his coat, she assumed resting on a gun in a hidden holster. He nodded at her, as if to say he was ready for anything. Taking a deep breath Kathleen opened the door.

It was Mrs. Dagner.

"Good evening, Mrs. Dagner. Is everything alright?"

"Fine, dear. It's Mr. Marietti . Said he saw someone at your window again. Twice actually."

Kathleen laughed. "Poor Mr. Marietti. I wonder if he's been drinking? I do have a visitor, but he came in through the door." She moved aside and invited her landlady in. "Mrs. Dagner, this is my...friend, Mr. Richard Harrow. Mr. Harrow, this is Mrs. Edna Dagner, my landlady."

"Ma'am," Richard said, taking her hand and bowing over it.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Harrow. I'll leave you two be, then." Kathleen followed her back to the door. "Have a good night, Mrs. Dagner. Thank you for checking on me. I appreciate your concern."

"Of course, dear. Good night Mr. Harrow," she called passed Kathleen's arm. "Have a good night dear. Oh, and," Mrs. Dagner lowered her voice. "Keep working on your veteran. I think it'll turn into a good love story yet."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kathleen took a taxi to the address that Richard had given her, arriving just as the sun touched the horizon in the west. Richard was waiting for her at the road's edge.

Richard opened the door for her when the taxi had stopped.. He extended his hand and helped her step out. He inhaled sharply as he laid eyes on her. Although he had practiced this for hours with Jimmy and Angela, to get the timing down and hopefully get over his nerves, he still had a flutter in his stomach that he didn't get with Angela. Not nerves, no. Something wonderful, like the touch of morning sunlight on the eyelids, or the first snowflakes of the season. He smiled at her and tucked her arm into his as they walked towards the house.

"Mmm..Before we go in., Can I tell you that. You are beautiful?"

"You can tell me that before we go in, after we go in, or any other time you want," Kathleen replied "But only if I can tell you that you are the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on." She reached her right hand up and placed it on his left cheek. She hoped he understood that she truly meant what she said, mask or no mask. He leaned slightly into her hand and closed his eye, almost feeling the warmth of her skin. After a moment he slowly opened his eye and gazed deeply into hers. Then he smiled and nodded, and opened the door and led her inside.

"Hey!" Jimmy said quietly when they walked in. "Got a bit of bad news. Ang came down with something, she's been throwing up all afternoon. I'm gonna sit with her, make sure she's okay. You two go ahead and enjoy dinner. Nice to see you again, Miss Gallagher. Good night."

Kathleen looked sidelong at Richard when Jimmy left.

"Is Mrs. Darmody really sick?" she asked, her tone light and a barely suppressed smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Richard shook his head. "Well then," she said. "We can do one of two things. We can either go in there, drag them out here and make them spend time with us, or you can go sit down at the table, and I can bring out dinner."

"Third option," Richard said. He walked over to a cabinet and lifted the lid on a record player. He turned it on and set the needle down carefully, then turned back to Kathleen and held out his hand. "Dance?"

Kathleen took his hand and place the other on his shoulder. She felt a thrill when his hand settled on her lower back and pulled her closer. It was a somewhat slow dance, for which she was grateful, since she'd never really danced before. But Richard was so graceful on his feet that it didn't really matter. They swayed and spun, their bodies moving closer with each breath. Soon, there was nothing in their world except the two of them. There was no need for words, they said everything with their eyes, and the gentle caress of a thumb over a knuckle, and the rhythm of their breathing. Richard moved his face closer to hers, brushing the corner of her lips with his. He could feel her eyelashes gently brush next to his eye, then she turned her face just a fraction and brought her lips fully to his. It was heaven. Everything Richard had gone through and seen over the past three years was gone. With Kathleen in his arms, he was just Richard Harrow, a young man from New York who thought about going to Europe as nothing more than a splendid idea for a vacation. There was no war veteran, no scars, no mask, no cold dead place that could so easily take over when there was a gun in his hand.

He didn't know how long they kissed, but eventually he pulled his lips away from hers and leaned his cheek against hers. "Kathleen," he said in a low voice, his breath tickling her ear in a way that made her skin tingle in a delightful way. She opened her eyes a bit looking out through the Darmodys' living room windows. "Kathleen. I lo..."

"**OH MY GOD RICHARD! GET DOWN!"**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Richard dropped to the floor, pulling Kathleen with him, just as glass started to shatter. From the back of the house, Jimmy's voice rang out, alternately telling Angela to take cover and cursing "the fucking bastards who think they can shoot up my house and get away with it." Richard nudged Kathleen toward a doorway to a back room. "Get in there. Mmmm...and stay low." She nodded and crawled along the floor towards the room. Bullets were flying over her head, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming. But somehow she knew Richard would keep her safe.

When she got through the door she moved to the side and peered back, expecting to see Richard right behind her. But he was crawling closer to the windows, a pistol in each hand.

"Richard! What are you doing!"

"Get back!" he called, flinching as a bullet hit the door frame just above her head.

"Do what he says!" Jimmy yelled at her as he went dashing past her. He fell to his knees and slid across the floor to the spot next to to Richard. Jimmy had a bag with him, and he upended it to reveal an assortment of guns. They started firing back somewhat blindly, although occasionally a grunt of pain came from outside. As they emptied each gun, they slid it back towards the door. Angela, who Kathleen hadn't even noticed, was on the other side of the door from her, boxes of ammo surrounding her. She'd grab each gun and load it, then slide it back toward the men.

"We don't seem to be making any progress," Jimmy hollered to Richard.

"Mmm." Richard nodded. "Need bigger guns. Kathleen!" he yelled. "Go. Into the back bedroom. Pull. The bottom drawer. All the way out." It was strange, Kathleen realized. The left side of his face was to her, so she couldn't see his lips moving. That with the fact that he had no emotion in his voice made Kathleen suddenly understand his cryptic note the first night he came to her apartment. "Reach in the hole. Grab. The case that's toward. The back. " Kathleen nodded and scurried away.

"You keep a gun underneath my son's dresser?" Angela shrieked.

"Mmm.. For emergencies."

"I think this qualifies, babe," Jimmy yelled as he slid another gun her way.

Kathleen came running back with the case in her arms. She hit the floor when Richard yelled for her to get down. She slid the case toward Richard, then looked over at Angela. "Can I help?"

"That depends. Got any more bullets on you?"

* * *

><p>"Is that going to be enough?" Jimmy asked Richard as Harrow began assembling a Tommy gun.<p>

"It's enough. For you to get Kathleen. And Ang. Out of here."

"Richard, no..."

"Get them. Out of here, Jimmy." Richard said. Jimmy looked into his friend's eye and saw determination and fear. Jimmy knew it wasn't fear for Harrow himself. He looked to the doorway. Saw his wife, who had dealt with so much, been so strong through everything. Then he looked at the woman beside her. He saw her watching Richard, her eyes shiny with tears that she refused to let fall. Jimmy knew, in that moment, the answer to a question that Richard had posed back on the morning they had driven together to the warehouse, the morning Richard had wandered, thinking.

_"If it was fate, why was _I _the one to save her?"_

"You weren't meant to save her," Jimmy said as Richard slammed the magazine into place. "She was meant to save you, Richard. Look, you asked me once what it was like to have everything. That girl is your chance to find out."

"I know. But if she. Gets killed. What reason is there. For me to go on?"

"She's probably thinking the same thing about you, you know." Jimmy looked back at the girls, then peered over the windowsill quickly. He ducked back down and said to Richard "We either all get out of here, or none of us get out of here. Got it?"

Richard nodded. "I'll lay. Down some cover. Get them out of here. Mmm. I'll be. Right behind."

Jimmy scurried over to the doorway where Angela and Kathleen huddled. "We're gonna go out the back door," he told them. "Richard will be right behind us."

"I'm not leaving him," Kathleen said quickly.

"You're not leaving him," Jimmy said. "You're just proceeding him out..."

"No." Kathleen shook her head. "He said he'll leave, but he won't. Once we're gone, he'll...he'll do...something incredibly stupid and dangerous to save us and he'll end up getting killed and," her breath started to hitch as she got worked up, and the tears finally started to spill, but Jimmy noticed that she never once took her eyes off of Richard.

"I'm not going to let Richard get killed," Jimmy promised. Her turned to his wife, counting on her to be rational right now. "You and Kathleen go out the back door. Head towards that patch of trees. Richard and I will meet you there. I love you."

"I love you too, Jimmy," Angela said, kissing him quickly. "Let's go," she said to Kathleen as she started crawling towards the back door of the house. Kathleen hesitated.

"I'll get him out," Jimmy promised. "But I need you out of the house to lure him out, all right? Now go follow Angela." Kathleen nodded and slowly followed Angela out of the room and out the back door. Angela was low to the ground, hidden behind a small hillock.

"We're heading for a small copse of trees about half a mile from here," Angela said quietly. The gun fire had died down for a moment, and the silence was nearly deafening. Kathleen followed Angela, keeping an eye on the house at all times, waiting for Richard and Jimmy to appear.

"Where are they?" Kathleen said after three minutes had passed. "Why aren't they out of the house yet?" She and Angela stopped where they were, their hearts in their throats. There had been no further gun play since they had sneaked out the back door.

Without warning, the front of the house erupted into flames. Angela screamed for Jimmy, Kathleen screamed for Richard, and they both started running back towards the house. Suddenly, the men were in front of them, backlit by the inferno that was engulfing the house.

"We've got to run," Jimmy said. He grabbed Angela's wrist and took off. Richard took Kathleen's hand and gave it a small squeeze before they followed. Jimmy's leg was killing him by the time they reached the trees Jimmy had mentioned. He had stashed a car there for 'just in case'. He drove, Richard sitting beside him in the front seat, a shotgun in hand in case they were followed.

Kathleen and Angela sat in the back seat, numb and exhausted. They drove for a while, Kathleen didn't know how long, or where they were headed. Eventually they pulled up in front of a large mansion unlike any that Kathleen had ever seen.

"My father's house," Jimmy explained as they got out of the car. "We'll be safe here." He led them inside where he spoke to someone briefly before coming back to them. "Follow me," he said, leading them up the stairs. "This is our room Ang," he said pointing to a door on his right. "You two are further down the hall, here." He opened a door on a large bedroom. "There's a bathroom you can wash up in, and some clothes, I don't know if they'll fit or anything, but they're there. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go fall into bed." Kathleen and Richard watched Jimmy slowly limp back towards his room before they entered theirs. The bed easily the largest Kathleen had ever seen, and at that moment, it was so tempting to just walk over and fall face first onto it. She looked over her shoulder at Richard, who was staring out the window. Slowly she approached him, gently laying a hand on his arm.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly. It was a stupid thing to say, because the answer was probably no, but it was the only think she could think of.

"I was afraid. Back there. Mmm. Afraid that you were going. To get hurt. Or killed." He looked at her, and she saw him in a way she had never seen him before. Everything fell into place for her in that instant.

"Richard," she said, moving so that she was standing directly in front of him. Her voice was quiet, but had a tone that made him listen very closely as he looked into her eyes. "You said, the night we met, that you were Jekyll and Hyde, all at once." Richard nodded. "And the next night, you tried to warn me away. You said that Jekyll was fine, but Hyde wasn't, right?" Again, he nodded. "This evening, I really saw what you meant. I would be lying if I said the sight of you, so proficient and detached from what you were doing with those guns didn't scare me to death. But, Richard, you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me, and Jimmy and Angela. Do you know what that tells me?" He slowly shook his head, captivated by her. "It tells me that, really, there is no Jekyll." She placed her left hand on his right cheek. "And there is no Hyde." She placed her right hand on his mask. "There's only Richard Harrow." And with that she slowly lifted his mask away. She kept her eyes locked with his as she did so, and when the mask was gone, didn't even bother to look at the wounds. They didn't matter to her at all. "All that matters to me," she said, "is what's in here." She placed her hand over his heart.

"You are," he said hoarsely, averting his face so she couldn't see the mangled remains. "You're. In my heart."

She gently turned his face back towards her, and he felt her lips against his. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, and the kiss, long, slow, tentative yet somehow so perfect, deepened. Hands ran over cloth, and soon fingers found buttons and hooks, shoes were kicked off, stockings fell to the floor in a pile with undergarments. The two lovers fell onto the bed, and fingers and lips began exploring skin. Taste and touch, scent sight and sound, senses seemed heightened as they caressed one another. And when their bodies finally joined, it was a moment of sheer bliss for them both. They lay together for a long moment without moving, feeling their heartbeats echo in one another's chest, sharing gentle kisses. They moved together, slowly, for there was no rush to end this. It was a moment that would bind them forever, no matter what was in store for them in the future. Richard was learning what it mean to have, perhaps not everything, not yet anyway, but something. And for Kathleen, she felt, not only the joy of love, and there was no denying that's what it was, but satisfaction of knowing that, for all the atrocity in the world, even self-proclaimed monsters had a heart.


End file.
